Stephen Malkmus

The third solo album from Mr. Malkmus continues in the same vein as 2003's Pig Lib: smartly-arranged tunes that zigzag through various tempos and bewildering lyrical couplets. He's at the top of his game on tracks like "Mama" and "Baby C'mon," but the real stunner is the eight-minute guitar opus "No More Shoes."

Stephen Malkmus' third solo album is his weirdest yet, and that's saying something. On
2001's Stephen Malkmus and 2003's Pig Lib, he mutated the indie-rock sound of Pavement
into fantastic new realms of fractured guitar kicks. But for number three, he does what
Pavement did on their third album, Wowee Zowee: He wigs out with a bunch of left-field
psychedelic-folk ditties, exploring the beauty and strangeness of Syd Barrett or... More >

Solo for real, Malkmus plays just about everything on this consistently enjoyable, predictably inconsequential recording. "You're the maker of modern minor masterpieces for the untrained eye," goes "Post-Paint Boy." As he must know--he's so knowing--substitute "ear" for "eye" and the self-portrait could make a lesser man afraid to look in the mirror without some company. (Grade - B+)